The German Element in Brazil eBook

The settlers, largely drawn from the agricultural
class, naturally brought with them from Europe a variety
of German dialects. These were more or less preserved
depending on the relative isolation of the colonies.
In cases where a considerable and constant influx of
settlers either by direct or indirect immigration
was kept up after the first years of the history of
any particular colony the original dialect largely
gave way to a modified form of High German, due primarily
to the normalizing influence of the German school
and church. Such is the case in the “Stadtplaetze"[41]
of Dona Francisca, Blumenau, Santa Cruz and Sao Lourenco.

The preceding statements are intended to present,
as it were, the background or basis on which the new
dialect was developed. We now come to the most
potent influence in the formation of that dialect.
It is the Brazilian Portuguese, a language which has
no connection with the Germanic group. In this
point, therefore, our case differs radically from
that of the student of the German dialects which have
been developed in North America.

The degree of linguistic influence exerted by the
Brazilian Portuguese on the High German or its various
dialects as spoken by the immigrants varies again
according to the relative isolation of the settlements.
We have degrees ranging from that of the old settlements
in the Santo Amaro district of Sao Paulo,[42] where
the German language has practically in its entirety
given way to the Brazilian Portuguese, to that of some
of the sections of the “municipios"[43] of Blumenau
in Santa Catharina and Sao Leopoldo in Rio Grande
do Sul where a modified German has not only held its
own among the inhabitants of German extraction, but
has also become the language of parts of the Luso-Brazilian[44]
and negro elements as well.[45] About half way between
these two extremes we might range the case of Petropolis
in Rio de Janeiro.

BRAZILIAN GERMAN WORD FORMS.

The following general principles are observed in connection
with the dialect which has been developed by the German
element in Brazil.

Nouns form by far the greatest number of words taken
over, followed next in order by verbs, exclamatory
words and phrases, adjectives and adverbs. The
last two appear relatively rarely.

OBSERVATIONS ON WORDS FROM THE BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE.

I. Nouns.

A. Masculines.

1) In the case of masculines the vowel ending is as
a rule dropped, e.g.,